How to create an employment brand

You're hiring new people at a company with an awesome culture. Your employees respect each other and are passionate about what they do. How do you find candidates with the right fit for your culture and mission?

Start with employment branding. More companies are creating marketing strategies focused specifically on hiring– and yours should too.

1. Employment branding: an overview

Your employment brand is what it's like to work for you. It's the perception of past and current employees and how that perception affects new hires. But it's not just your reputation – it's the story of your culture and people.

Employment branding is telling that story with job seekers in mind. The goal is finding people who align with your company's values and hiring them. Employment branding should be on your mind when you're building a career page on your website, writing job descriptions for LinkedIn, or training your hiring managers.

Theoretically, your great products or services will entice job seekers to want to work for you. But it takes strategy to find the people who can help grow your company and convert that interest into clicks on your careers page.

2. Your strategy: it has to be personal.

Obviously, you want the perception of your employment brand to be positive. But you need to be more specific than "a good place to work." Figuring out your brand starts with assessing your culture and values.

Your employment brand has to be personal. Ask yourself why you work where you work. Make a list of the perks, and most importantly, the feelings you have about your company. Ask your colleagues to do the same. Write a story using this feedback.

Next, tell that story in the marketplace. Talk to your marketing team about a regular stream of social media posts highlighting your culture and career possibilities. Train your recruiters to tell this story when they talk to candidates. Work with your web team to rewrite your careers page to highlight your unique culture. You could create some cool new materials too, like a video campaign or blog series featuring employees.

Finally, measure your results. Look at average time to accept, the number of declines or turnover rate – what stats do you want to improve? How do the numbers compare before and after your efforts?

3. If you outsource, find the right team.

Whether you use recruiters to hire a few positions or an entire team, select a partner that cares about telling your story.

A great litmus test is asking a firm about their employment brand. If recruiters care about their own culture, they'll understand the importance of yours. That passion will carry through when they talk to candidates about your awesome team.

Make sure you're working with a firm that understands this responsibility and trains recruiters to tell your story every single time.

Are you looking for a partner to build an employment brand and hire the right people for the right jobs? TSP has nearly half a century of success doing just that. Check out our unique services or get in touch to learn more about what we can do for you.

Nikki worked for three years in a communications office after graduating from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University with a bachelor's in journalism. She takes painting and drawing classes in her spare time. Nikki lives in Grandview Heights and desperately wants to get a dog.